Restaurants are popping up on San Francisco's west side, drawing other parts of The City to the coastline
Editor’s note: This is Neighborhood Explorer, a series in which culture correspondent James Salazar highlights the people and places that make their pockets of San Francisco unique.Change is afoot in the Outer Sunset — and not just politically.
Recent openings and other new developments are infusing the western edge of San Francisco with vibrancy and activity, turning it into a destination where neighbors and visitors alike can explore local gems and connect with each other. These new business owners say they want others to fall in love with the neighborhood, while giving Outer Sunset residents new spaces to call their own. Community members have “been a really driving force in helping us adjust as to what they want and what they have,” said Brian Reccow, a 28-year Outer Sunset resident who opened the Fifty Vara kitchen and bar on Noriega Street six months ago, in the former Sunset Reservoir Brewing Company. Inheriting “one of the largest spaces in the Outer Sunset” after his friend, owner Hillary Passman, closed the brewpub to focus on her Devil’s Teeth Baking Company, Reccow said residents have already “taken us in.” Fifty Vara’s second-story dining room has become a hit for private events — welcoming schools, neighborhood nonprofits, local soccer teams and private companies through its doors. Reccow said he wanted to create “something that feels quintessentially Sunset” in the space, which was once a produce market in the 1940s and is flooded with natural light. The restaurant’s name is a nod to the old Spanish unit of measurement that was once used to survey The City. A sea-foam-hued bar beckons customers to spend their happy hours at the counter, while large windows in the main dining area allow pedestrians to peer inside the restaurant and take in the plantscapes of Sunset Roots, a local, woman-owned florist. Mindful of the area’s surfeit of single-family homes, Fifty Vara’s team made sure the restaurant opened with something that could be of particular use to locals — a kids menu. Serving brunch, lunch and dinner offers plenty of opportunity to lure in customers going to and from the beach, Reccow said. To mark the restaurant's sixth month in business, Reccow said he and his team are preparing to refresh the menu for the fall season. “We have to create things that create excitement and that encourage people to want to get out and be with their fellow San Franciscans and their fellow Sunset residents,” Reccow said. When asked about the Sunset’s culinary appeal, recently recalled Supervisor Joel Engardio, whose district includes the neighborhood, said that local restaurants “have become destinations in the Sunset because of their unique dishes.” Ex // Top Stories How SF reached yet another recall election The ins and outs of the recall against Supervisor Joel Engardio, which ends Tuesday Tenderloin seniors go hungry due to this year’s city budget The San Francisco budget this year didn’t include an annual increase to a fund dedicated to services for seniors, and a free meal plan at the Curry Senior Center is fe… Report: Tariffs would cost SF nearly 18K jobs over 20 years Figure includes gains of more than 5K manufacturing positions through 2045 For instance, Win’s Restaurant — situated on the neighborhood’s Taraval Street edge — has been roasting duck for 46 years. Other businesses, such as Terra Cotta Warrior on Judah Street, combine owners’ personal upbringing with cultural traditions to create new dishes honoring their heritage. Restaurateurs in other parts of The City have taken notice of the Outer Sunset’s emerging reputation as a culinary destination. Nick and Monique Osborne, the owners of the Mission Rock Resort restaurant in Mission Bay, are in the process of opening Ruby’s in the former Beach’n, a vegan restaurant steps away from Ocean Beach that shuttered in May. Named after the couple’s youngest daughter, Ruby’s is slated to open in the beginning of October. In addition to a full bar, the restaurant will serve up a California-inspired menu consisting of tacos, wraps, salads, and other foods that could be packed for a picnic at the beach. Nick Osborne told The Examiner that all three of his kids love the water, with time spent along the shore causing his family to fall in love with the neighborhood. Those moments also harked back to his own past. “Growing up, my family and I spent countless days chasing our dog and playing with friends at Ocean Beach,” he said. “We feel very lucky to call this place home and we hope Ruby’s will be a place that the neighborhood will enjoy for a long time.” Meanwhile, the area is welcoming in new neighbors with accessible housing. Earlier this month, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for the 135-unit Shirley Chisholm Village apartment complex on 43rd Avenue. The first-of-its-kind affordable housing project set aside units for San Francisco Unified School District educators and employees, many of whom have had to move out of The City or leave the school district entirely due to housing costs. Abby Goldware Potluri, MidPen’s senior vice president and co-head of housing development, said the property’s residents “have shared how much they value being able to live in The City where they work, especially in such a vibrant neighborhood.” Families at the property now have “easy access to Golden Gate Park, the beach, the N Judah and great local restaurants and shops,” she said. Reccow echoed that sentiment, saying he has found a community of like-minded individuals who love the neighborhood and want to make its riches as accessible as possible. “This is something that we want the Sunset to be very proud of — and the City of San Francisco in general,” he said of his restaurant. “This is just another opportunity for people to enjoy this neighborhood.”
Judah Street Noriega Street Taraval Street Sunset District Ocean Beach
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